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Rumour of Kingda Ka's removal

CanobieFan said:
Ah, yes, a fantastic opportunity to ride a floorless roller coaster at the park that's still home to the original floorless roller coaster.
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I literally forgot there's a floorless coaster at Great Adventure already, my oversight 😅

At another park, yes - at Great Adventure, unless they do what Merlin do at some of their parks and install two rides of the same model in different parts of the park, no 🤣
 
CanobieFan said:
Ah, yes, a fantastic opportunity to ride a floorless roller coaster at the park that's still home to the original floorless roller coaster.
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The smartest move might be to floorless-convert Green Lantern, and then also convert Medusa to a surf coaster, so as to avoid the whole "two floorless coasters at one park" problem. ;)
 
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Coaster Studios, you don't say...



The Kumba rumor began with claims that it was only on one train when they were indeed running multiple at that time. In terms of the Ride of Steel bull**** they spread a bunch of extremely obvious misinformation about the train situation as well.

Face it. Your. Friendly. Neighborhood. Influencers. Are. Not. Insiders!

Now something is definitely going on with Ka, especially with the markers. Yes there are people directly within the corporate structure that seem to think it's going (I leaned into the possibility here), and there's people who claim that its maintenance crew is being moved elsewhere and some upgrades are in the cooker. It might even go down for awhile. But I also know staff at Six Flags who are under NDA and would be investigated if certain tidbits about attractions ever got out, so hard to imagine that those in the know would just speak so freely to enthusiasts.
 
If I may do an Ultimate Coaster-style response throw back for the older CFers in the room:
Matt N said:
I know Six Flags Great Adventure has a lot of coasters, but won’t losing two headline coasters, including an arguable park icon, at once have a massive impact? I hope they have replacements planned in some capacity, as these two going, particularly Kingda Ka, could leave a considerable hole.
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Yes, Kingda Ka being removed would be because of new site prep needed for a new attraction.
Fiender said:
Maybe I'm crazy, but wouldn't relocating and getting new trains for GL cost almost as much as a new coaster? Maybe not a new, full-sized B&M, but a coaster from elsewhere, or a compact B&M dive/invert. And these floorless conversions haven't yielded much for the parks that get them, nor are they particularly well-liked at any park that has one. (Rougarou has mixed reception at best, while Patriot and Firebird are looked down on).

Why spend the cash on careful disassembly, shipping, rebuilding, and new trains, when for just a little extra (relatively speaking) you could get a brand new coaster, with a full lifespan ahead of it, that would likely be better received by parkgoers?
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Not as much as you'd think - relocations typically hover ~$4-6M depending on size and scale, which is still at least half the going rate for new coaster installations of similar size ($12-$15M). Let's not forget Green Lantern itself is a relocation, done on the same merit.
TPoseOnTantrum said:
Think we're past the point where we're going to see these huge less desirable coasters get passed down to a smaller park in the chain, particularly when the American parks have suddenly begun embracing higher quality and customized products. More of a bang-for-your buck scenario and better value than some aging relocated B&M. That was a very 1990's-2000's-era mindset and Green Lantern isn't exactly in its prime now.

@Fiender probably said it better but I'll elaborate. Resurgent investments like Bobcat at Six Flags Great Escape, Iron Menace at Dorney Park, Zambezi Zinger at Worlds of Fun (mechanically issues aside), and Rookie Racer at Six Flags St Louis have all been incredibly successful, well-implemented, and well-received. Much better than any relocated hand-me-down at those parks would have/has historically done.
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You say that, but I would gladly bet there are many second and third-tier Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks who would gladly raise their hand for a large footprint B&M. (e.g., Worlds of Fun, Valleyfair, SFStL, La Ronde, Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, etc.)

It's undeniable the amount of things that could be done between the adjoining Green Lantern and KK plots (and Golden Kingdom zoo area); but I still expect there to be some holdout to see if a KK 2.0 could be doable.
 
The only theory I can come up with on why they would actually close Ka quietly is maybe they would redo it. Switch out the hydraulic launch for magnetic, and then extend the layout into where a Green Lantern is, which is the reason for GL's removal/ relocation. Thus extending the life of Kingda Ka under a new launch system, not losing a major crowd pleasing coaster, not losing the Kilimanjaro drop towers and then freeing up extra space to add an additional attraction down the line in what's left Green Lantern plot. And Maybe this is why it's happening all so fast because of the TT2 issues and maybe it could be Intamin because of how the other didn't work out? Eeeeh just a fun theory I had.
 
JustLarry said:
The only theory I can come up with on why they would actually close Ka quietly is maybe they would redo it. Switch out the hydraulic launch for magnetic, and then extend the layout into where a Green Lantern is, which is the reason for GL's removal/ relocation. Thus extending the life of Kingda Ka under a new launch system, not losing a major crowd pleasing coaster, not losing the Kilimanjaro drop towers and then freeing up extra space to add an additional attraction down the line in what's left Green Lantern plot. And Maybe this is why it's happening all so fast because of the TT2 issues and maybe it could be Intamin because of how the other didn't work out? Eeeeh just a fun theory I had.
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So another swing launch ? Meh sadly.
 
JustLarry said:
And Maybe this is why it's happening all so fast because of the TT2 issues and maybe it could be Intamin because of how the other didn't work out?
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With all due respect, in what world would TT2 not opening as intended due to unforeseen issues caused by the conversion make CF shutdown KK faster and without any announcement?
 
ViperGTS500 said:
Since it looks like some kind of decision has been made (with all the markers), does this mean we can at least rule Zamperla out?
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Because, Zamperla doesn't use survey markers?

Sorry guys, please don't jump too far on survey markers; they can literally be anything but coaster work, such as repaving concrete or digging for new landscaping. Wait for more confirmation and tell before you call your shot. :)
 
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